St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-11
CopiOus Rains Make Luxurious Vegeta-
| lion and GLADDEN. The Hearts Of the
Rancher and Freighter.
The People Beginning to See That Rail
] read Competition Would Help
Them Immensely.
ASpecialty The Next Thing to Monopoly
---The Hills Have a Spec
ialty in Tin.
Deadwood Wants Road---Wycming Coal
1.-The Hills Rich in Building
Materials.
Special to the Globe.

: Special to the Globe.
RAPID CITY, OAK, June 9.-The
Black Hills are looking their best now,
ito this year and many years. A year
ago now the fields were gray instead of
green. The copiOus rains of the past
two months have done it, and the hearts
. of the rancher, the cattle man and the
1 freighter are singing. The latter, per-
/ hapS. most OF all, as he depends on
grazing en- route to furnish his quadru-
pedal locomotives their free fuel and
enable him to compete with the iron
horse. He is doing it. The arrival this
week of several bull trains from Pierre
with freight for the upper camps is a
telling comment on the freight tariff of
our only road from Chicago. This con-
Signment was three weeks on the road
from Pierre. Ii time seems to be in the
railroads favor, it must be added that
the bull train has also lowered the
record of many shipments by rail. /
have heard of one bill of goods that was
six weeks on the road between st. Paul
and Lead City by rail and teams, but
that was exceptional. In view of both
cost and time the people here are already
CLAMoRING FOR RAIL COMPETITION.
Interest to that end just now centers
in the approach aOf the Burlington d
Missouri toward the Hills from the
south. 1t will cross the Elkhorn. line
near Chadron, Neb., and, it is reported,
follow up the south fork of the Chey-
enne to Rapid City. Here it will have
for feeders by the time it is completed,
one and probably two narrow gauge
roads into the Hills. For work has al
ready begun On the r. c., w. q W., and
cable adyieeS from England from James
Wilson, principal owner of the princi-
pal tin mines and the only tin reduction
works, in the hills, announces that he
has enlisted ten millions of English
money to operate these and build the
Rapid City, d Southwestern narrow
gauge through the tin camps and South
ern Hills to5AiyOmipg.. If this news is
trustworthy -5aad il. comes direct from
Mr.. WilSon-it viii have a very import
ant influence Oil the DEVELOPMENT of the
resources ofthis. part of Dakota. Other
mining regions have gold and silver.
bat the Black Hills
n S7s ALONE HAVE TINs-.5
in paying quantities; have a speciality,
and that Is the next best thing to
monopoly. The extent of the tin depos-
its haS.ye che definitely settled. No
any where. IS far as the developments
have gone. the formation shows the
same tendencyto increase in richness
with depth as do the veins of the more
precious metals. But very extensive
deposits have already been uncovered,
and, what is more encouraging. the cas-
jSiterite yields two or three time the per-
7centage of tin that the same does in
'other countries. The mining and re-
duction of this matter, however, require
as close economy and as careful man
agement as are required to make our
lOW-grade ores pay, as under the man.
agement OF the Homestake company,
referred to in my last letter. Therefore,
lit is hailed as a promising feature of
Mr.. Wilson's effort to put our tin pro-
sduction on a paying basis that plenty OF
capital and experience are to be enlisted
in the undertaking.
( DEADwOoD AFTER A RAILROAD.
A meeting was held in Deadwood last
week to start a movement to secure the
extension of the ElkhOrn line, by a spur
up the canon, to that place. A commit
tee was appointed to confer with the
/ Northwestern authorities and liberal
purse raised for its expenses. The line
on its westward way pa 5seS through the
valley ten miles north of DeadWood.
Although the branch will be expensive
to build, / think its construction proba-
BILE, for these reasons: DeadWeod must
have it or go to the wall, and that town
is not one of the kind that s'lays down.
1t is always torn up with internal quar-
relS, but when crisis comes it has q
habit Of meeting and of ''getting there.''
/ This is case of digging for the wood
chuck, and DeadwOod is likely to be out
of meat. The construction of the Rapid
City narrow gauge to Deadwood's back
door will divert its trade from the Elk
horn; Chapman is forcing the Elkhorn
to Deadwood. And, finally, / have the
best of authority for the statement that
the Northwestern intend, and have in
tended ever since the Black Hills branch
was decided on, to go to DeadwOOd.
Now, like local wag when asked to
take something" they are saying:
1--WE might if we are properly APP
preached" Deadwood will properly
approach" and get the road. But it is
queer to read some of the objections
urged against making the approach by
old timers as published in the papers.
They recall the halcyon days of the bull
trains and stage coaches from Sidney,
and mourn the encrOachments of mod
ern Improvements. They are not as in
telligent as the Richmond preacher, who
admits that things ''dO move."
AFTER WYOMING COAL.
A good deal of guessing is done as to
the objective point of the narrow gauge
line hence to the hills. The projectors
take unusual pains to keep secret the
ultimate route, having thus far an
nounced only the same into the woods.
thirty miles from everywhere. Again
/ am willing to go on record as a
prophet. The line will take in all the
mining camps and timber of the hills
that it can, and then strikes bee line
for the coal fields of Northern Wyoming
Ito bring the Mahomet of fuel to the
mountains of minerals. This is the
obvious thing; the, necessary thing
I e ra Ragag TSese On nsrew 1s op
will never be able to live sim
ply as feeders of the standard
gauges at the terms to be dictated
by the latter. The only local business
of any magnitude now assured is con-
nected with the fuel and timber supply
of the mines, and in that business the
narrow gauges can most successfully
compete with the standard, which is not
going near the mines. The latter will
probably use its power over the former
to secure division of this business, for
the Elkhorn is projected to the coal
4oiuS diSo. OpedhlHS VI wyoming coal,
ISaw this week some of that combustible
burn; it makes hot, mi-bituminous
fame, and burns clean with white ash:
the samples were quite free from slate.
] do not learn that it is decided to be
available for cooking, which is great
,desideratum for this country's smelling
prospects.
BLACK HILLS BUILDING MATERIAL.
( a company is ipcuhatipg here to ag-